Defeating Oneself
by Chris186
Summary: Link versus Dark Link with a tragic twist to the proceedings. One Shot. Please read and reveiw. Polished 30.5.08


Defeating Oneself

A/N: Link vs. Dark Link with a twist. One shot. Please Read.

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Standing, enveloped in swirling mists in this unseen room, being forced to breath it in as the strange smoke wisped around his dripping face, howling winds declaring the presence of the pure man and his holy blade. He cursed this Water Temple silently under his hot breath; as if it were Humanly possible to be any more _drenched_ then he already was in his state...

"May the gods combined _damn _this infernal place to Chaos' Kingdom with all the given might they have within!" Link huffed, brushing a dripping strand of his blond locks from his celestial blue eyes, "I'd curse every inch of this dastardly place if it were up to me!"

"Unfortunately for you, it's not." Came the solemn reply of the blue fairy, Navi, flying out of his pointed sapphire hat, "Just keep moving, we're bound to find an exit somewhere around here."

As much as Link hated to admit to this (and he often did), his loyal fairy was right; neither of them knew if it was simple physics or a magical enchantment of the Evil King's, but once they found their footing on the marble platform, the temple had rumbled violently and the foundations of stone set upon the entrance had crumbled to dust, spewing falling rubble down into the dark abyss of the submerged entrance and trapping them inside. It didn't matter to them however; none of them were in the mood to debate it right now. As Navi had suggested, Link had best keep moving in a desperate attempt to get out of here.

The splash of his footfalls echoed heavily throughout the room, at least three times each, as Link made his way to what he assumed was the exit to this place; this one room here, out of those he had stopped counting through the length of the entire temple from the sheer ridiculousness of even trying. Through the water, across the moist wet sands of an ignorable island harbouring a small, dead tree and from there into more water...

And what he found at the end did not help him in the least…

Bars; platinum bars at the end, cloaking a door from his view; bars that covered this door and blocked his way out of here; the way out he'd been so eager to find, blocked by this one evil spell out of the ridiculous, senseless and frustrating many he'd encountered before, ever since the sinful 'king' had taken up his 'rightful throne' atop the nightmarish, jagged and nocturnal atrocity that was the impenetrable stronghold of Ganon's Tower.

The unholy ReDead statues littered about the ruined Market town were the gaurds to this tower; and they were the most terrifying and horrendous creatures he'd laid eyes on in his past as the prophetic Hero of Time. They were still as statues, their hollow, decaying eye sockets waiting, only for food and for prey, moaning in torturous agony, licking their yellow, cracked and serrated teeth with their slimy, black tongues, releasing the blood-curdling scream of a tormented soul as they march to claim their only relief in this ruined world, littering a peeled trail of sickly brown flakes of dry flesh, giving way to a new layer of rotting skin, their powerless pray rooted to its spot by the unholy scream, helplessly fixated on the hideous beast intent only on ripping apart its flesh; alive; and relishing the taste of the torrent of fresh blood from their opened victims, torn apart by their extended rotting hands. The gift of undeath, once conceived, as a blessing by the Evil King for his most vile creations was here nothing more than a terrible curse placed upon the righteous few who revolted against his dark order; tortured to death by the merciless king himself and cruelly revived by his black magic to wander the lands as the walking dead; placed to kill the awakening Hero of Time destined to stop his plans and bring about the restoration peace and the light of harmony to the broken world…

This was _infuriating_! His way was now blocked and Link sat, squatting in the puddle, facing that door with a sour look of defeat on his face, feeling not only sad, but also another presence in the room with him and Navi; he brushed it off as simple overreaction to a stressful situation; and he wasn't bothered to count how many times he'd figured _that_ in this cerebral torture chamber either, but the winds came closer and more sharply now than ever to him…

Like a cold and sinister breath…

Going ever so slowly down his neck…

"Navi," Link asked.

"Yes?" she said.

"Do you ever get that feeling…. you're being watched?" he finished as he stood up to face the opposite end of the room and that decayed abnormal tree in the middle; it look to be a mirage now, but it seemed to have gained a darker shadow around it ever since he passed; on only its right side, and it seemed to give off the impression that something was...leaning against it on the bark, waiting to lunge out and strike with its hideous humanoid form …

There was no more reason to deny it.

"What are you?" Link bellowed, "I demand an answer!"

There was definitely someone…._ something_ in the room besides him and Navi.

"I, the Hero of Time am your opponent." Link spoke out, "Are you so cowardly that you refuse to show yourself to engage in a fair battle?"

Then, amazingly, something neither Link nor anyone else could've possibly expected happened at that very moment…

"_I don't know…are you_?"

The thing was _speaking_! Speaking in a chilling and sinister, yet soft and yielding, silky tone to put fear and doubt into the heart of any man; and to his unexpected reply, Link could only speak one word…

"_What_?_"_

"_You heard me, child._" Came the shadow's malicious voice again, "_Are you ready to engage in a fair fight with the Hero of Time…or are you too cowardly to try_?"

Link spoke again, angrily and quizzically, and as if he was drawn by some force, a strange fusion of deadly curiosity and moral obligation, he snaked towards the shadow, unarmed.

"_W-What by Blazing Din are you talking about_?!" he cried, "_How do you know I'm still a-_"

"_I know more about, Hero than you could ever wish_ _anyone_ _too_" the voice spoke, "_I am your past, your present and your future…I know all of your deepest regrets, darkest secrets…_"

"Are you _spying_ on me?" came the enraged reply of Link

"_Why would I want, or need to_?" came the silky and malicious voice, "_I have known since your very birth in the hands of your dead mother-_"

"STOP IT!" Link screamed, "I DEMAND TO KNOW WHO I'M TALKING TO!"

"_You talk to nobody_," came the shadow's malicious voice, as it spread the room like butter on bread, coating it with its sickening soft and silky tone; and by now it had the room covered in a velvet blanket of suave vocality so loud it seemed to pour from every orifice of the wall...or come from Link's own head…

"_But yourself_…"

"T-that's a lie!"

"_Your greatest enemy waits to be slain, Link, Hero of Time…will you face it like you have the other challenges, or will you back away too cowardly to fight_?_ Like you have already branded yourself_…"

"You lie!" Link screamed, clutching his skull "You're driving me mad! I was _never_ you! I never _will _be! I-I'll _kill_ you!"

"_And for that I do not blame you_…" came the rage-inducing silkiness of the shadow's malicious voice, "_Man has always wished to bring the infamous scythe to the neck of his worst enemy and bade them away from their sight_…_do you know who that worst enemy is_?"

"You're not!" Link shouted, "Ganondorf is! You're nothing!"

"_Nothing but a minion to Ganondorf_." The voice came, "_You are right, Hero; but when I am matched against the likes of him, I spit in his face and throw him to the depths of his dark tower_. _Who am I, Hero of Time_?"

"You are NOTHING!" Link bellowed into the mists as he raised his hand, unarmed and brought it down upon the shadowed figure…

_WHISSSHH_!

A figure cloaked in shadow leaped out and thrust its sword forward, hacking madly, back and forth as Link courageously back-flipped and fought off the blows with nought but his fast hands and stopped, in a battle stance, topping off his trademarked cries of 'hut' and 'hiyah!' with a larger version of the former. The two now seemed to be standing parallel to each other in a stalemate, the Dark creature's blade not a few feet away from Link's neck and the Hero of Time poised with his fists ready to land a punch.

The figure, boiling with bloodlust and rage stood firm, with its sword pointed to the distant Hero and spoke not with his silky, soft tone, but with a hugely contrasting gruff and angry one that seemed to resonate from jagged rock, one that screamed for blood and malice as Link gasped at the cut on his hand, through the glove that sliced the flesh beneath it, leaving a thick dollop of blood from the desperate hack of the thing's sword; but he returned to his boxing stance immediately.

"_Now who's telling lies_!" it screeched, "_You've clearly been far too stupid to figure this out yourself haven't you?_"

"Figure out _what_?!" Link grunted, withdrawing his sword and soaking it in the blood of his left hand.

"_A man's worst enemy is not pure evil_!_ It is himself_!"

"You're not me!" Link screeched

"_I am as much you as I am not you_!" the thing screeched, its voice burning for blood, "_I am a minion of Ganondorf's, made with your blood from the magic attack of 7 years ago_!_ I am you Link_! _We are one_! _Two halves of the same person_!"

Link merely stood in shock, as the thing smiled maliciously, revealing its silver pointed vampiric teeth on either side of his mouth's top jaw, the crimson eyes of his black, liquid form burning for the taste of the fresh blood of purity…

"_Unfortunately, there can only be one of us_!" it grinned maliciously, "_Greetings, Link, Hero of Time_! _I am Dark Link_!" he spoke as he slipped into a battle stance, "_Happy sparring, partner_! _Don't think you'll be getting out of here alive_!"

Link, being whom he chose to become, was willing to take that chance; and so amongst the ominous swirling mists of the room, he ditched his Hylian shield and they fought…

The Master Sword clashed with a spectacular burst of spreading, pure light and a resounding 'clang' and as it cleared, they stood there, interlocked in a battle for supremacy, each trying to repel the other's blade with all their force. It continued for what seemed like eternity; endless and continuing to no point of finish at any moment until at last, Dark Link's battle was won; Link slipped his Master Sword away from the clone with a 'shing' and swiftly swung back around to parry the immediate downwards blow with a 'clang', fixing his blade underneath Dark Link's; the malicious demon ripped his blade from the stance in reply, drawing his arm up in a powerful swing and sent a relentless hack at Link's left arm, only to be parried by the swift and familiar 'clang' of a block from the lengthways blade as Link defended by meeting his blade with his counterpart's in an easy, reflex movement honed from an eternity of fighting by the blade. Dark Link ripped his shadowed replica sword from the standpoint, swinging around to make another merciless swipe at Link's chest, but then, the most amazing thing happened that even he, a swordplay telepath could not have anticipated in the least…

In a spectacular display of pure, brilliant acrobatics, Link leaped into the air and yes…

_He landed on and_ _jumped off of the edge of Dark Link's blade_! Link was thrust high into the misty air and gripped the blue hilt of his sacred blade in both of his hands, and as gravity took ahold and he descended upon his nemesis, he raised the sword above his head and as he landed, he thrust the blade down on to Dark Link's head…

But no! Dark Link had _disappeared _before Link's very eyes; the demon had suddenly vanished in smooth wisps of grey smoke and completely out of sight, releasing from his cold, dark lips a 'hut!' just like his!

"What?!" Link screamed, landing roughly in a crouch on the ground, his blade gripped firmly, frustratingly, in his hand "_No_! I had him right there! Where did you get to, you pest? _Where_?"

There was no time to worry about that; of course it was part of the grand scheme of worries, but Link's sixth sense for invisible presence was acting up again. As he erected himself, it felt like something was _behind _him right now, poised to strike…there was no time for hindrance or error. Link gripped the hilt of his sparkling blade, and spun around, plunging it forward, into the reappearing gut of the hideously screaming Dark Link, who reared his head up and howled like a beast to the mists in the excruciating pain, the relentless white-hot roast of the sword's purity, bearing his repulsive platinum fangs and straight, platinum teeth as every fibre of his being caught fire, with Link narrowly avoiding by mere inches the dark blade of his counterpart which was suspended in Dark Link's grip inches from his neck. Still his alter ego's fiery eyes yearned for revenge as his blood-curdling scream came to a climax and he stopped; a pause. It was certainly a sight, the blue-robed warrior, crouched ever so slightly, arm held out fast and straight with a sword right through the gut of another. The room was deadly silent, the only music for the victory being the whisper of the ghostly winds that dwelled within the room's mists. And then the creature's resolve gave way and he began to cough.

A small, defeated choke at first; and then again, more powerful, with purpose. A foul torrent of black, inky blood came spewing from his mouth in an unsightly series of horrid chokes, gargles and splutters; Link _had_ him. He had at last defeated this preposterous madman against all of the odds and this was only glorified by Dark Link's screams of agony that amplified and enriched the bloody choking in a cacaphony of gore as he burned, slain by the almighty power of the Master Sword. Link had decided to not listen in triumph, instead choosing to mock this traitor for all his worth, tearing the Master sword from his gut and turning from Dark Link's suffering cynically.

"By Nayru's Love, what a whiner!" he scorned, "I could've done better with my eyes closed! I-"

"Link!" came Navi's desperate warning, "Look out!"

"What?!" Link cried, swivelling around to meet that he wished he'd never have to…

Dark Link took his blade down from its suspended animation in the air and thrust it forwards from a leaning, ready-to-strike stance.

"_Impudent scum_!" he cried, or rather, gargled hideously with the torrents of black blood spewing from his mouth as with a sickening squelch; it pierced right through an unprepared Link's gut and The Hero of Time cried out in a slow, drawn-out loss of breath, silent, yet loud in its doom; and Link collapsed to the ground, propped up only by his hands, the Master Sword in his left, to face his dying enemy, who had partially knelt down with him.

Dark Link knealt firmly, fists clenched in rage, one hand on his sword. But yet he smiled a savage and gleeful smile with his bloodied fangs as Link coughed crimson blood that stained his chin and tunic. It was a victory; knealt down parallel to one another, poor Link with a sword through his chest and Darl Link with a gaping wound in his own stomach, it seemed as the blood ran the water a sickly mauve from red and black that the two truly were equals. That they were indeed one and the same person. Again, the biting cold wind and silence; and then Dark Link cackled. He cackled and he laughed and roared with mirthful success and it rang throughout the chamber. And as sudden as it had started, it changed. He released a final bellowing scream to the heavens and let go of his blade, leaving it impaled in the fallen Link's gut. The malevolent beast seemed to disintegrate in front of him, shrivelling up in a burst of red flame before his eyes, until at last, he exploded in a shower of sparks that scattered like a crimson blanket across the room and bonded, shrinking into a thin red line and vanishing from existence with a sonic boom…

The blade still lay impaled in Link's gut and blood weeped to turn the water red with as much of a transformation as the room around him now made. The fog cleared and the space turned a simple blue, a pathway of tiles with banks of shallow water surrounding them; and the bars on eitherend of the room that had so frustratingly blocked the path before simply faded away, taking the doors with them in a crumbling heap of dust and rubble - and then the room fell silent for a moment.

"I did it!" Link sighed triumphantly with a weak smile, clutching a hand to his gut.

"But what about that gaping wound?" Came the anxious reply of the blue fairy Navi, "Look at what the hell spawn did to you! You can never forgive him for that!"

"I won't." Link smiled, and with the thought now anchored in his mind, he said "I won't live to."

"W-What?" Navi cried, "Link! No! You can't mean that!"

"So much for saving the world…" Link responded lightly with a fond chuckle, "The doors have been destroyed by that explosion. Get out of here while you still have the chance."

"No!" Navi blubbered, "I'm not leaving you here! You can barely get up-"

"Leave!" Came Link's voice in a rough a commanding tone, "As your protectee, I order you to save yourself while you still can!"

"But what about Dark Link?" Navi shrieked in disbelief, "What if he comes back?"

"He won't." Link replied confidently, his voice fading and weakening in the biting cold of the 'new' room. His tunic was bloodied, the water ran red, his hand dripped ceaselessly and his jaw flowed freely with sickly, thick crimson. And yet his mind turned to those he cared in his final moments, "If you ever get back to the forest, tell Saria that I love her very much."

"Link-y-you can't do this!"

"Goodbye Navi. Dark Link can take his curse to the bottom of this damned place with me."

Navi, once too busy mourning over her protecee's eventual passing with such a massive internal wound, suddenly felt the full realisation of his next action.

"Link!" she screamed, now sobbing helplessly, begging, barely managing to talk through her unstoppable torrent of tears, "Don't you _dare_ do that! I order you not to do that! As your guardian I _order_ you not to do that! Please, don't leave me and everyone else! You have no clue how many pieces they'll have to pick up from this!"

"Well what do you know?" Link smiled, making a cheeky quip at his fay, "I guess fairy's have feelings too."

"Well," Navi choked, knowing somehow from his good nature that he would not be stopped and her heart fell heavy with a grim acceptance, "I guess this is…Goodbye, right?"

"Who knows?" Link smiled, "Maybe I'll come back someday; my job is not finished." He managed a small grin, feeling Navi on his cheek, mingling his tears with her own as she dispensed a tiny fairy kiss and left his face.

"Get out of here, now." Link grunted, "I really don't want you to see this. Agreed?"

"Agreed." Navi sighed, leading herself away to the Longshot Treasury and disappearing behind a corner.

She hovered there, behind that corner as the grotesque squelch of a ripped blade and the haunting, insufferable brief bellow of her partner, the 'clang' of a sword thrown to the ground and vaporising in fluorescent burst of crimson smoke, wisped away with the howling winds…

And as she heard these nightmarish sounds, the sparkle in his eyes vanished and the Master Sword's light went out…

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A/N: End of Angsty One Shot fic. Review Please.


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